


Sacrifice

by Fandomcraziness22



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:42:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22457422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fandomcraziness22/pseuds/Fandomcraziness22
Summary: Cisco's thoughts during the fight with Barry in 6x04
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	Sacrifice

Why was his best friend like this? Yeah, he was always playing the hero, he was a hero, with superpowers. But why did it always mean him sacrificing himself?

Cisco could not accept his friend’s death. He didn’t care what he had to do to change it. He would do anything. And he couldn’t understand why no one seemed to care that Barry was going to die in a matter of weeks!

So yes. He took the serum that the lab had created. Because, really, why would he save Dr Rosso, a man he had only met once, when he could save his best friend of six years? It wasn’t a choice, no contest needed.

But Barry seemed adamant that this was the only way. And Cisco knew he would never agree to steal the cure to only use it on himself. So he pretended it wasn’t there, put it in his pocket when no one was in the room.

Because he had always made that call. Barry had sacrificed himself time and again, and Cisco always brought him back. That was how it worked. He opened the speed force, shot that bazooka, created the bus metas. Every single time, Cisco brought him back. So why not get ahead of the problem, and stop him from disappearing? From dying?

But Barry was smarter than that, and their long friendship proved to be his downfall. Barry had noticed that Cisco couldn’t look at him, because the guilt was written all over his face. No matter what his friend thought, he was doing the right thing. But he couldn’t convince Barry of that, so hiding it seemed like the better option.

He was wrong.

Arguing with a person who is convinced he must die to save the world is hard, frustrating, and plain angering. Because why couldn’t Barry understand that he needed his best friend? Barry was more than the Flash, he was Cisco’s confidant, his family. And someone has to save Barry. As part of Team Flash, that is Cisco’s job. That’s all there is to it.

 _You get to live,_ he says. As if that makes everything better.

Because really, what does Cisco have to look forward to? Yes, he has a wonderful girlfriend who puts up with his crazy job stopping metas. And yes, he has Caitlin to patch him up and confide in (and Frost too), but what good are they when they aren’t Barry Allen? A world without Barry is a gray world, one that seems hopeless. His friend means more to him than words could ever say, and why can’t Barry understand that?

 _Because you’re my pick, to lead the team._ Barry is already thinking five steps ahead, and Cisco can’t believe the trust his friend has in him. Because he is not a leader. Cisco is loyal, he knows this, and will follow to the end. But he is not cut from the same cloth Barry is. If anything, Iris should lead the team. But Cisco knows Barry doesn’t want to put that responsibility on his wife, to keep her safe. And the trust Barry continues to show in Cisco, through the years, after his decision to stop being Vibe, is now shattered. By hiding the serum, Cisco has shown Barry he isn’t ready for the job.

But he would do it again, every time. Because yes, he is justified in wanting to save Barry. Because Cisco can’t understand why Barry won’t fight this. They’ve figured out a different solution to every problem in their way. And has Barry forgotten the lengths he went to, to be able to save Iris? It wasn’t long ago that Barry would stop at nothing to save his wife from her oncoming demise. That seemed inevitable, and yet they found a way. So why can’t Barry let himself be saved?

His parting words sting. _Maybe I made the wrong choice,_ are words Cisco never thought he would hear in regards to their friendship, their partnership, their alliance, their team. And that sting is enough to tear him down.

So he does the only thing he can do. He walks to the freezer, takes out the cure, and puts it down in front of Barry. _The serum is yours,_ he tells the dying man. And then Cisco walks away, unable to be in the same room as someone who has given up, who won’t fight for a new way out.


End file.
